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Thursday, January 26, 2012

Last night, my Mom told me that I have been invited by the organizers from the Million Horse March, to go to Washington DC in March to help present the letters from the Children's Letter Writing Campaign. We will be presenting the letters in Chambers to the Congress and Senate and then to their offices. When my Mom told me I was so, so, so, so, so excited I was jumping up and down and yelling, "I want to go, I want to go!" My mom asked me why I wanted to go so badly and I said, "Yay!! Because I get to help save the horses!!" I would totally like to go and show everyone in our Nations Capitol how much horses mean to me and other children in our country. I want to make a difference and save our horses from the cruelty of slaughter. Like I testified in the NH House, when I look into a horses eyes, I see love and the healing hands of God and I want the Congressmen and Senators to see that too. My mom said she will do her best to make it happen for me. I would like to make a goal of collecting at least 115 letters to bring with me to present. I hope all of us can help me reach that goal! Please ask other children to write letters, draw pictures or write poems about what horses mean to them. Please send me your letters so I can bring them to Washington DC! Please give or mail your letters to me in NH at:c/o Children4Horses PO Box 614Greenland, NH 03840Or you can mail them directly to the Million Horse March Children's Letter Writing Campaign. The deadline is March 20th, so I would need to get them the week before to send them all off to be organized. If you send them directly to the Campaign, would you please write my name somewhere on the envelope so I can keep track of reaching my goal :-) For more information, details and a direct campaign address, please visit Equine Welfare Alliance's website at: http://equinewelfarealliance.org/Children_s_Page.htmlThank you for doing your part to help save America's horses!I love horses so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Last week, I interviewed Mrs. Bryant who works with the horses at the NHSPCA. I interviewed her because she knew a lot more about horse slaughter than I did. I also used the interview as a way to practice for my testimony at the NH State House.

Here are the questions I asked:

Doyou like
your job?

Why do you work with the horses instead of the cats and
dogs at the NHSPCA?

Do you have your own horses?

Are you against horse slaughter? Why or why not?

What makes horse slaughter wrong?

Do you think the way horses are transported to
slaughter is wrong? Why or why not?

If we ban horse slaughter what do you think would
happen to the unwanted horses?

Where do the horses that go to slaughter come from?

What can people do to help?

I had a GREATtime, but I was a little nervous. Here is the audio of my interview:

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Predatory Business Breeds Corruption and Crime

Charges filed against a Chester County woman for posing as a rescuer of horses while sending them to slaughter have prompted a new round of calls in Congress to end the killing of horses for meat in the United States.

U.S. Rep. Patrick Meehan (R., Pa.) on Thursday urged his colleagues in the House and Senate to pass legislation to halt horse slaughter after reading a report in The Inquirer that Kelsey Lefever of Honeybrook was allegedly selling animals for slaughter in Canada under false pretenses.

“This is a tragic example of why we need federal law to prohibit the transportation and sale of horses for slaughter in the first place,” said Meehan, one of 150 cosponsors of anti-slaughter legislation in the House. “Horses are not raised for human consumption, and their slaughter for sale overseas is a cruel and inhumane practice that is not consistent with our values here in Pennsylvania.”

In November, state police charged Lefever, a 24-year-old horse trainer, with multiple counts of fraud connected to an alleged scheme involving ex-race horses.

Lefever duped thoroughbred owners at a central Pennsylvania racetrack into believing she would find homes for their retired racehorses and instead sold them to kill-buyers at a Lancaster auction, according to charging documents.

Horse slaughter effectively ended in the United States in 2008, when the last plant closed after federal funding for U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors was withdrawn. Since then, an estimated 140,000 U.S. horses have been transported to abattoirs in Canada and Mexico.

With funding for USDA inspectors restored in a budget bill President Obama signed late last year, slaughter plants could again legally operate in the United States.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Today, I went to the New Hampshire State House in Concord to testify against horse slaughter now being allowed in New Hampshire. We went to the Legislative Building for the hearing regarding HB1446, which is about meat inspection law(s) in New Hampshire. When we got there, there were a lot of people there and I was a little nervous to speak in front of all those people. I had to sign in and fill out a pink card to say I wanted to give a testimony and how long it would take. While Chairman Haefner was talking in the beginning, I took some pictures of the hearing. Chairman Haefner said when they wrote the bill, they never even thought about horses being included for meat inspection. Chairman Haefner called the first person up to say what they wanted to say. The first person to speak was Valerie Pringle, who works as a Equine Protection Specialist for The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). I was called next to testify and I was a little nervous.

Here is what I said:

My name is Declan Gregg and I am 9 years old. This is what I think about horse slaughter.

I think horse slaughter should stop because it is cruel, mean, gross and inhumane and it is very wrong. When I look into a horses eyes, I see love and the healing hands of God. Horses are not treated fairly. What did they ever do to you to be treated this way? Is freedom to much to ask?

I love horses and I have tried everything I can think of to save theses beautiful, loving creatures and I hope it works. When I watch videos and see pictures about this cruel way to kill horses, I look at their eyes and I see the most hurt and scared eyes I have ever seen. That is, if they haven't already hurt their eyes so they don't kick on the truck (for transport).

I love horses and I hope this cruel way to kill horses stops for good and I hope you do too.

Thank you for your time, Declan

After I testified, Chairman Haefner asked if anyone had any questions for me and one of the Representatives, Rep. Sad raised her hand and said, "If I may, I know I'm not supposed to since I'm a prime co-sponsor of this Bill, but I couldn't resist. Thank you for testifying. Do you have a horse?". I said "no" and then she asked, "Would you like a horse?" and I said, "Yes!" Then she said, "Well then Maybe someday, your mom will get you one." Then Chairman Haefner thanked me and said I did a great job and thanked me for my testimony.

When the questions were over, Chairman Haefner called up the other people who wanted to speak and give a testimony on what they think about horse slaughter. Those people included, people from the NHSPCA, other horse advocates, the NH State Vet, and even 3 pro slaughter people, but mostly people against the slaughter of horses. Then Chairman Haefner asked if any one who didn't fill out a card had anything they wanted to say. One woman, who runs a horse rescue and is against slaughter, said she did, so Chairman Haefner let her speak too. Then Chairman Haefner talked about having a (sub-committee) meeting next week to talk more about horse slaughter in New Hampshire. After the hearing was over and everyone was getting up to leave, Chairman Haefner, Representative Sad, and even another Representative (who is Pro) came over to me and said I did a great job. A woman named Valerie Pringle, who is an equine protection specialist, from the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), came to me and said great job and shook my hand. Then she gave my Mom her card and said, ''Could you stay in touch and give me your son's link to his blog, please?" She came back a little while later and gave me a bag with the HSUS logo on the side :-) Next, a Swiss farmer came over and offered us a mini horse to keep! He said she's too small to breed and that I could just have her to keep!!I feel like I have made a huge difference and accomplished something great! I feel so, so, so, good about what I have done! I hope that horse slaughter stops in the US and every other place on Earth!!!!!! Stayed tuned for my next entry about my interview last week with Suzanne Bryant from the NHSPCA.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

HORSES
ARE BEING TREATED BADLY READ THIS TO HELP MAKE IT STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Horses
are being treated inhumanely and cruel! I am trying to make it stop by making
posters and letting people know what is happening to them. Horse slaughter is now legal in the United States and I think it's wrong! Please help me save America's horses!Please ask your State Representatives in our US Congress and the US Senate to help the horses from dying a cruel death and be a cosponsor of the Amercian Horse Slaughter Prevention Act - H.R.2966 (Congressmen) and S. 1176 (Senators). For
more information on what is happening to America's horses, please keep reading through my blog posts and you can also look through the list of links I have on the right side of my blog.

In the Bible (Deuteronomy 14:3-20 and Acts 10:9-20, 28), it says that humans are only supposed to eat animals with cloven hooves, but people do not obey that rule instead they eat horses that do not have cloven hooves.

God says that we should take care of animals not abuse them. God created us in his own image and God would not hurt animals. God expects us to take care of the Earth and be a good steward of all of His creation.

SAFE Act

The Safeguard American Food Exports "SAFE" H.R.1942 is the current bill proposed in the House and Senate to protect American horses from slaughter. PLEASE contact your legisltors and ask the to cosponsor and support SAFE.

Children 4 Horses is on Facebook

Declan Bio

Declan is honored to be the 2012 ASPCA's Humane Kid of the Year and the first ever recipient of the ASPCA Junior Equine Angel Award. Declan is also an ASPCA Junior Equine Welfare Ambassador.

After hearing about the inhumane and cruel practice of horse slaughter, now ten-year-old Declan, decided he needed to raise his voice. He created Children 4 Horses, to spread the word about horse advocacy issues and worked diligently with the Million Horse March campaign to collect letters from children to inspire lawmakers to end the slaughter of American horses.

Declan’s dedication to horse advocacy brought him to the nation’s capital twice, where he represented over 1,000 children from the United States by presenting the letters to legislators in Congress. While in Washington DC, Declan met with Congressman Frank Guinta of New Hampshire, where he shared his opposition to the inhumane treatment of horses and subsequently garnered the Congressman’s co-sponsorship of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (S.1176/H.R.2966).

Declan also joined forces with the “Horses on the Hill” campaign, speaking before celebrities, Congressmen and Senators to lobby against horse slaughter and advocate for the protection of horses under S.1176/H.R.2966. In addition to his three Washington DC visits, Declan testified at a hearing for a bill opposing horse slaughter at the New Hampshire State House in January, 2012.